By Ryan Leeds
While Major League Baseball winds down with the World Series just weeks away, Paper Mill Playhouse hopes to heat things up with its season opener, a musical version of the 1988 film Bull Durham, which starred Susan Sarandon, Kevin Costner, and Tim Robbins. The movie’s original writer-director, Ron Shelton, returns to give his story the stage treatment. Unfortunately, it barely reaches a simmer and leaves audiences asking themselves, “Did this need to be a musical?” The hugely talented cast is stuck in a show with pacing more akin to golf than that of the great American pastime.
The tuner premiered last year at Theater Raleigh. Hopes were high that it would transfer to Broadway, similar to The Great Gatsby, which started at Paper Mill and was also directed by Marc Bruni. But as it stands now, Bull Durham isn’t ready for the Major Leagues, and another baseball-themed musical, a revival of Damn Yankees at Arena Stage, has its eyes on Broadway.
The wafer-thin plot evolves around Annie Savoy (Carmen Cusack), a sultry, soulful, and literate bombshell who picks one player per season to be her boyfriend. Will it be goofy hotshot pitcher Nuke LaLoosh (Will Savarese) or the smarter and more grounded veteran catcher Crash Davis (Nik Walker)? We eventually find out, but it takes a two-and-a-half-hour 7th inning stretch to get there.
Singer-songwriter Susan Werner makes her musical theater debut, lending music and lyrics tinged with gospel, country, and rockabilly. Werner is a fantastic solo artist, but here, too many songs barely propel or elevate the plot.
Thank goodness for Cusack, who is the real standout here and the key reason to see Bull Durham. The Tony nominee took Broadway by storm in 2016’s Bright Star. Theatergoers who missed her in it will understand why she’s such an impressive force.
The rest of the creative elements are hit or miss: Choreographer Joshua Bergasse gives his ball club some fun moves while costume designer Alejo Vietto adorns the cast in appropriate 80s era attire against Derek McLane’s adequate but unimpressive baseball park set.
Bull Durham reminds us that musicals often spend years in the minor leagues. With Damn Yankees waiting in the wings at Arena Stage, Broadway may get its baseball musical this season after all.
Fast facts: ‘Bull Durham at Paper Mill Playhouse
The baseball musical Bull Durham strikes out at Paper Mill Playhouse, where a talented cast battles weak pacing in this unnecessary film-to-stage adaptation.
- Paper Mill Playhouse, 11 Brookside Drive, Millburn, NJ
- 2 hours and 15 minutes, including one intermission
- Performances through November 2, 2025
